''Alpheus deuteropus'' or the petroglyph shrimp is a snapper or pistol shrimp in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Alpheidae Alpheidae is a family of caridean snapping shrimp, characterized by having asymmetrical claws, the larger of which is typically capable of producing a loud snapping sound. Other common names for animals in the group are pistol shrimp or alpheid s ...

. It lives on

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

s in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

, as a

commensal Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction (symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit fro ...

of corals such as '' Porites lobata''. Its presence among the lobes leaves tunnels, cracks and grooves in the surface.Marine Life Profile: Lobe Coral
Waikïkï Aquarium. Retrieved December 20, 2011. Like other snapper shrimp, one of the

cheliped A chela ()also called a claw, nipper, or pinceris a pincer-like organ at the end of certain limbs of some arthropods. The name comes from Ancient Greek , through New Latin '. The plural form is chelae. Legs bearing a chela are called chelipeds. ...

s is much bigger than the other and is modified to make an explosive clicking noise. The body is only slightly laterally compressed and does not have a crest on the carapace. There is an orbital hood surrounding the eyes. Male shrimp can grow to .The genus ''Alpheus'' Fabricius 1798
Alpheid shrimp database. Retrieved December 20, 2011.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3933842 Alpheidae Taxa named by Franz Martin Hilgendorf Crustaceans described in 1879